A Flame within the Shadows
by EvanescentDream93
Summary: For Miss Dark Shiva. Trust is a hard thing to earn and wounds of the heart can make that even more difficult. Can the Titans earn the trust of one girl before Slade gets her and when left with the choice, will she chose them, power or neither...? REVIEW!
1. Shadow Flame

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans nor do I own Shadow Flame which belongs to Miss Dark Shiva. I only own this story's plot.**

**Shadow Flame**

Within a dark alley way of the dingiest part of Jump City, something crucial was unfolding. Bodies of destroyed robot minions littered the ground, some intact and others totally pulled apart. Limbs twitched in spasms as the wires short circuted, still trying to perform the last moves they had been processed to do before being torn apart. There were ten in all and each wore a black body suit with a black and orange mask. Only one still stood but a black flash quickly got rid of it. It collasped onto its knees before falling to the ground so it could lie among its brethrens.

"Finally got rid of 'em," an exasperated female voice said, but from where was unclear since all that was in the alley was trash and disembodied robot limbs. Oh…and shadows of course.

From the back of the alley, a leg stepped out from the shadows slowly followed by the rest of a female body. It was a young woman with shoulder length black hair dyed red at the ends pulled into a pony tail. She had cold dark eyes and wore a grey sleeveless hoodie over a white tee short with matching gray pants. Her face, arms, and legs were covered in cuts and bruises, some old some new. Fresh blood ran down her cheek where she had foolishly allowed herself to get cut by one of the now damaged robots, but she didn't notice. Things like this were normal for her.

She began walking towards the alley's exit when something grabbed her ankle. She looked down to see one of the robots that were now bottomless holding on to her leg. She got ready to kick it when its head flipped open revealing a small screen. The girl scowled at what she saw before kicking the robot away from her and continuing to walk. Once she made it out of the alley she pulled her hood up and continued to walk, the message she had just seen playing in her head.

_"I will find you…" _the message had read before an image of a mask, half black half orange with only one eye, appeared. _"You will be my apprentice…Shadow Flame…"_

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The heavens were filled with sparkling jewels twinkling down upon the city of Jump City, home to some of the most, let's say, gifted people of the world. The streets were calm, the city's residents tucked away in their homes, a few still wondering the streets…or skies.

"Starfire, report."  
A young beauty with eye catching red hair and bright green eyes flipped open a black and yellow communicator showing a boy wearing a mask, his black hair slicked back.

"Unfortunately, Robin, I have been most unfortunate with the luck. I seem unable to find any evidence of the signal that we received," the alien girl replied.

"Fine, report back if you find anything," the boy said before disconnecting the communications. The girl nodded hovering in mid air as she continued to look around the city. From her spot, she could see her gray skinned anti-social friend, Raven, searching the north part of the city. To the west she saw a green hawk, Beast Boy, flying over a white and neon blue car being driven by another friend of hers, Cyborg. To the east she could see a red motorcycle zooming down the streets with its masked rider, Robin.

Starfire sighed turning back towards the southern part of the city, the part where she was suppose to be scouting and where the signal had originated. She resumed her search, flying over building roofs looking for some sort of sign. She saw movement below and watched as a grey hooded figure walked out of a dark shadowy alley with a limp.

_"Strange," _she thought, wondering why someone would be in a dark alley at this time of night. Curiosity getting the best of her she silently flew into the alley where the mysterious person had just come out of. Using the light of her star bolts, the young Tamaranean gasped as she saw what her green glow showed before her.

Disembodied parts of Slade's robots littered the ground. She stepped further into the alley surveying the damage that was done. Remembering that Robin wanted her to report back she immediately contacted the dark hair boy.

"Starfire to Robin, please come in," she said.

"Robin here, what's your status?" the boy asked.

"I have found destroyed parts of robots. Slade's robots," she said hoping that the boy wouldn't overreact.

"Damn," he growled, "I'll contact the others. We'll meet you at your coordinates" he said about to disconnect.

"Wait, Robin, there is one more thing that I should tell you."

"What is it Star?"

"Right before I came to this alley I saw a hooded figure walking out. Should I go and pursue them?"

The boy pondered on this and nodded. "Yes, see what you can find out," he said disconnecting.

Starfire put her communicator away before returning to the air, searching for the person she saw not to long ago. Her green eyes caught sight of the person and she immediately sped towards them. The person was sitting on a bench underneath the shadow of a nearby tree.

"Excuse me," Starfire called out to the person, surprising them as they jumped from the bench immediately taking off in the opposite direction. "Wait, please," the alien girl called out flying after the person.

The Titan followed the hooded individual as they continued to run into an abandon warehouse. Starfire hovered silently over the ground as she went into the building. She no longer saw the person but she knew they were there somewhere.

A thud from the floor above caught her attention as she flew through a hole in the ceiling above and onto the next floor. "Hello?" Starfire called out as she continued to search. "Please, I only wish to talk to you," she said noticing that the shadows around her were eerily getting larger though the sun was not rising. "I do not want to harm you. I am called Starfire. Maybe you have heard of me," she tried again. "I am part of the group known as the Teen Titans."

"You're that alien girl, aren't you?" a female voice asked next to her. Starfire spun around but saw nothing other then her own shadow.

"Yes," Starfire said deciding to keep talking hoping that the person would reveal herself. "I am from Tamaran. Who are you?"

"Someone who wants you to leave," the voice said coming from behind her but when she looked all she saw were a couple of old empty crates, their shadows forming against the wall.

"Were you not the one who destroyed those robots back in the alley?" Starfire asked.

"Are you stalking me?" the voice asked annoyed.

"No, I merely wish to know why they were after you and how you destroyed them. Did you do it all by yourself?" Starfire asked keeping her cool though she felt that the shadows were creeping closer to her.

"Yeah. Now if we're done playing twenty questions I would like it if you leave" the female voice said, sounding tired.

Starfire was about to do what she was told when she noticed dark red drops of liquid on the ground. Blood. "You are bleeding!" she said worried.

"Nothing I haven't handled before," the person said, this time sounding really hurt.

"Please. A friend of mine can heal you," Starfire pleaded.

"I don't need help," the person said and Starfire noticed something darting from one shadow to another, leaving blood in its wake. "Damn," she heard the person muttered from a shadowy corner before, with a thump, the person collapsed onto the ground, shadows retreating.

The alien girl flew over to the ground kneeling next to the person, gently turning them around to find a girl no older then herself unconscious and bleeding profoundly. "Starfire to Titans," she said taking out her communicator, "I need help!"

Only seconds after she said that, a shadow in the shape of a large bird rose from the floor releasing her teammates who had been transported there by Raven.

"Dude, who's she?" Beast Boy asked.

"I do not know. She did not tell me but she is in need of medical attention," Starfire said though everyone else could already see that.

"We'll take her to Tower," Robin said. "Titans, move out!"

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In large dark room, the only light came from a giant size screen showing an image of an unconscious black hair girl surrounded by the Titans.

"So, Shadow Flame," a bi-color masked man said staring at the screen, "I see you made some friends, but don't worry my dear," he said his only visible eye narrowing, "you won't have them for long…"

* * *

So after a week and a half of saying that I was going to write this for her I finally did. Whoopee for me! I hope you like Shiva!

Anyway, I do not own Shadow Flame. If you want to see a picture of her you can find the link at the bottom of my profile.

So yeah...I hope you like**_. PLEASE REVIEW!!! _**


	2. Alone

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or Shadow Flame who is owned by Miss Dark Shiva. I do own this story's plot. **

**Alone**

_"Have you seen the news?" a man asked, "They found another one of those freaks. One of 'em mutants out there making a mess," he said looking through the paper._

_His wife sighed nervously. "Honestly," she said drying the dishes, "I'll feel much better when all of them are locked away, away from us normal people." Her husband grunted in agreement. _

_Across the hall, in another room, a 10-year old girl bit her lip, holding back the sobs that wanted to break free as tears ran down her cheeks. "I-I'm a f-freak," she thought looking at her hand as a blue flame engulfed it. It didn't hurt, but knowing that she was just able to do this was painful enough…_

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The rhythmic sound of an annoying beeping was what she awoke to. She opened her eyes to be met by bright blurry light. She gasped as her body throbbed with pain.

"_Where am I?" _she wondered to herself, "_Definitely not on the streets," _she concluded when she smelt the scent of disinfectant. "_Hospital? No, too quiet."_

Slowly this time, the girl opened her eyes, squinting briefly as her eyes adjusted to the light. She saw that she was surrounded by all sorts of high tech medical machines that seemed to be monitoring her.

"How did I get here?" she murmured, bracing herself as she sat up her stiffed body. She held back a whimper of pain. This was nothing, she thought. She had been through much worst pain then this.

In one quick swipe she took out the tubes and wiring that were stuck into her arms before standing up. She immediately regretted that. The dark hair girl immediately met with the floor with a loud thud. She swore silently to herself, cursing her numbed legs.

"Did you hear something?" a voice asked from beyond the door in front of her and it sounded like it was getting closer.

Her dark gaze swept the room until she found what she was looking for in the corner. To anyone else, they would only see an empty corner covered in the shadow of the small table next to it but to the young female she saw an escape. She reached towards it, the silhouette of her hand blending into it before her entire shadow seemed to be sucked in with her body in tow.

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_'I need to leave. I need to go before someone finds out. I can't stay here. Mom, Dad, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I'm this; that I'm a…freak.' _

_A single tear ran down her cheek as she gave one final look around her room. No. Not her room anymore. She didn't belong here. They would understand. They would be filled with joy knowing that there was one less weirdo to worry about; to fear._

_"I'm sorry," she whispered before clambering out her window, leaving that world, that past behind…_

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The frown lines on the boy's face etched deeper into his features as he continued to find no clue as to who the girl they were nursing in their sick bay was.

There was nothing. No pictures, no missing posters, no files, no nothing. It was like she didn't exist. He remembered a proverb he had heard once that seemed to fit this, "A man without a past has no chance at a future."

Besides the fact the girl seemed to have no records it seemed like Slade was interested in her which always raised a red flag. Nothing that Slade was interested in was ever good. The man always had a plan and until the very end he always seemed to be two steps ahead of the boy; a phantom always slipping out of his grasp.

The boy continued to mull over what little clues he had until the door to his room flew open revealing a very distressed looking alien girl. "Robin! The girl! She has wound up missing!"

"What?" the boy asked in disbelief as a black form appeared from the ground before revealing a blue robed girl.

"She managed to get past the detections in the room," Raven said in her usual monotone voice. "Beast Boy and Cyborg are sweeping the tower now for any signs of her. We think she may still be in the tower."

Robin growled slamming his fist into his open palm. "Have all exits closed and locked. Make sure every space of the tower is checked out. We still don't know if she's friend or foe; let alone what she can do."

"But she destroyed Slade's robots," Starfire defended.

"That doesn't mean much right now," Robin said, "For all we know she could be an enemy, a spy. I don't want a repeat of what happened with Tara. Raven search her out." Raven nodded. Starfire looked reluctant at what she knew Robin wanted the Halfling to do but she too began looking for the girl, hoping that the one she had saved wouldn't be the one she had to fight.

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_Rain poured mercilessly upon her head, drenching every inch of her, chilling her small body. The rushing crowed pushed past her not even giving the poor girl a second glance. After all, who would care about a monster? She was untouchable and unloved._

_The girl stumbled into an alley hoping the tall walls of the cramped buildings would provide some sort cover for her. She collapsed against a wall, hugging her knees close to her as she rock back in forth._

_This was too much. No child should deserve this yet, she was punishing herself for something she had no say in, for something that was unwanted yet a part of her._

_"What's a pretty thing like you doing here?" a voice asked as a three shadows feel upon the girl. She looked up to see three unshaven men standing above her, the sickening intoxicating smell of alcohol clinging to their bodies. "Come on," the man slurred, "we'll take you somewhere nice and warm."_

_"No," the girl murmured, fear creeping into her body._

_"What did you say?" one of the other men asked._

_"I said no. I don't want to go anywhere with you," she said grinding her teeth defiantly._

_"Oh! Feisty one," the first man smirked, "You'll definitely be fun to mess with," he said extending a large burly hand towards her. _

_The girl tensed shutting her eyes. "No, no, no," she murmured to herself her rocking becoming quicker._

"_Come now, be a good girl," the man said wrapping his hand around the upper part of her arm._

"_Didn't you hear me," the girl whispered, her shaking stopped. "I said…no!" she cried out opening her eyes to reveal white as her pale skinned became dark and the shadows around them began to grow, stretching towards the now frightened men._

_The child lifted her hand towards the men and the shadows immediately wrapped around them, holding them in a tight grip. The men begged for mercy but they deserved none and were punished as the girl clenched her open hand tightly._

_A snapping noise echoed through the alley before the shadows retreated dropping the lifeless bodies into the muddy puddles. The girl stared emotionlessly at the bodies until her head snapped around at the sound of foot steps and clapping._

_She saw a figure coming towards her, that of another man. A strange sense of power and demanding obedience flowed from the man and the girl couldn't help but stare as the man walked closer to her, only one eye visible._

"_Very good, my dear. Very good."_

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She hissed in pain as she emerged from a shadow of a coat rack. It had obviously been a bad idea to use her powers in her weakened state but the girl was stubborn. "_They locked the exits," _she thought remembering the conversation she heard while she was using the shadows to elude her captors.

A couple of times though, the green shape shifter and the cyborg had managed to either catch her scent or heat signature but she was kick and knew exactly how to loose them. She leaned against the wall keeping a lookout for anyone, staying close to the shadows. She had to figure out a way to get out of here. She didn't want to stay here. It wasn't good for here to stay in one place for too long.

She shakily stood up using the wall for support before she gasped, dropping to her knees and clawing at her head. Her head spun in dizziness and pain as an unknown presence tore threw her mind, raping it of all sense of privacy. The dark hair girl bit her lip holding back a scream that was threatening to escape her throat as the pain almost became unbearable.

"_Who are you?" _an unfamiliar female voice questioned within her mind as images of memory involuntarily floated to the top of her mind, force her to remember things she rather keep buried.

"_Who are you?" _the questioned was answered again except for this time it was her younger self that had spoken.

_"I am merely someone who wishes to help you. To remind you that you are not alone or unwanted in this world," _the man in the alley said. At that time, that had been enough for her, but now as she withered in pain on the ground, she realized how foolish she had been.

_"What is your name?" _the unknown female voice and the memory of the man asked simultaneously.

_"Alika. Alika Kore," _the memory of her younger self answered for them both.

"_Ah, that name won't do," _the man said tisking, "_You need a name that people will remember; that they'll fear and respect!"_

Young Alika looked down in thought before she looked back up at the man. "_My name is…"_

The girl now, in the present, weakly got to her feet, not willing to give up though her head was practically having major splitting headaches. She smirked weakly as she held herself as tall as she possibly could. "My name?" she asked aloud, almost sadistically as this time she let who ever the intruder was see the rest of her memory.

"My name is…," both the memory and the girl now said together, "My name is Shadow Flame."

* * *

Second chapter for my buddy Miss Dark Shiva. Hope she likes. Just to make it clear, the end where Shadow Flame's mind is being invaded, she's being forced to remeber something but she is still in the present. Yeah..hope that part wasn't confusing.

Nothing more to say so...**_PLEASE REVIEW!!!_**


	3. Interrogation

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or Shadow Flame who is the property of Miss Dark Shiva. I do own this story's plot.**

**Interrogation**

_The small child fell to her knees, gasping as she tried to fill her lungs with air. Her mentor stood impassively before her. "Get up," he ordered softly but still with an air of power and authority._

_The girl struggled to get to her feet, her legs feeling like they had less substance then jello._

_"Get into your position," she was ordered. She slowly moved her throbbing legs apart and managed to get her lead felt arms up too though they were shaking horribly. Cuts, bruises, and other similar wounds covered most of her skin and a feeling of nausea threatened to overcome her._

_Suddenly and without warning, a foot was aimed at her. She barely had time to fall to the floor before she was attacked with another combo of attacks. She made her tired body back flip before putting her hands on the ground and lifting them with what looked like thin gray pieces of translucent material. She flicked her wrist causing a large ripple of shadows to move towards the masked man. But that wasn't good enough._

_He simple jumped over the large rolling mound that was coming towards him before sending a kick at the girl, sending her crashing to the ground._

_"Get up," he ordered once again without any pity for the battered girl before him. "Get into your position." _

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She squinted slightly as the blinding white light was shined upon her. She was in completely dark room, save for the light that was shining upon her. In any other situation this would have been a big advantage, but unluckily for her, her captors had put a power inhibitor on her.

She scowled at the boy who paced back and forth before her, providing only temporary relief from the bright light. He hadn't even ordered his team to put her in cuffs or anything else that would prohibit her from moving. She was basically able to move anyway she wanted. She found it an insult that he thought she couldn't defend herself without her powers.

"Who are you?" Robin asked pausing before her.

She turned her head away from him, staying quiet.

"I asked you a question," the boy growled, getting annoyed faster then he usually would, probably because the girl had put up a fight before they were finally able to detain her.

"Shadow Flame," she murmured.

"I want your real name," the masked boy said.

"I told you," the girl said turning dark eyes towards him. "My name is Shadow Flame. Do I need to spell that out for you?"

The Titans' leader growled angrily before with a swish of his cape turned and went back to the observation booth where the rest of his team was.

"Dude," Beast Boy laughed, "you got owned!"

The masked boy gave his green skinned friend one of his most unnerving stares causing the boy to squeak in surprise and fear while hiding behind Cyborg.

"She won't say anything," Robin said turning to Raven. "I want you to take a look into her head."

"I can't," the girl murmured.

"Why not?" Robin asked slightly aggravated.

"She's blocking me," the gray skinned girl said blatantly.

"But weren't you able to find her through her mind in the first place?" Cyborg asked.

"Yes, but I was only able to see a few glimpses. Not enough to make anything out other than her name: Alika Kore," Raven said.

"That's good enough," Robin said. "Cyborg, see if you can find anything on her now in our files," he said before walking back towards the interrogation room.

"Robin," Starfire called out sounding unsure. "Do you think that this is what is right?"

"Of course, Star," the masked boy said. "She could be a threat to us, to the city! We need to find out what she knows and why Slade is interested in her," he said before continuing on his way to the interrogation room.

He returned to find the girl sitting in her chair eyes closed and arms crossed. "So," Robin began, "are you going to say something now, Alika Kore?"

"No way in hell, Bird Brain," the girl retorted, opening her dark eyes to stare defiantly. "And the name is Shadoe Flame. S-H-A-D-O-W F-L-A-M-E."

"You know I'll have to charge you as a criminal, _Shadow Flame_," the boy growled angrily.

"Why? Because I have powers? You don't have to do anything," Shadow said. "I was just minding my own business when you guys brought me here and start interrogated me."

"You needed medical care!" Robins said slamming his fists down on the metal table that was the only thing between the two. "If it weren't for us then you would be dead."

"Who said I didn't want to die?" the girl shouted, standing up so quickly that her chair flipped over. "What gives you the right to think that you're so high and mighty? You don't understand anything about me and you will _never _willunless you some how become a freak like me!" she yelled, breathing hard as her gaze never left his. She took a deep breath, releasing her tight grip on the table's side. "All of you are the same," she muttered.

"What do you mean?" Robin asked, but it was apparent that the shadow manipulator was done talking. He left the room again, leaving the girl to be on her own.

Starfire watched as the masked boy left the interrogation room. Once she was sure that all the others were gone, she silently made her way into the room.

"Friend, do you have the hunger?" she asked before hearing a scoff.

"Friend?" Shadow scoffed again. "We're not friends. You don't even know me."

"True," the alien girl said looking down at her folded hands in front of her, "but I would like it very much if we could be."

"Don't hold your breath," Shadow Flame snorted.

Starfire, despite the girl's attitude toward not wanting to be friends, was persistent and was not going to give up that easily. She just needed to find something that interested the girl…

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Somewhere unknown and hidden in the shadows of Jump City was the lair of the masked man known as Slade. He watched the screens before him as they showed the dark hair girl who long ago had been his apprentice. She was with the Titans. A slight hindrance to his plans but it didn't concern him much. Nothing would get in the way of his plan to get back his former apprentice.

"I hope you haven't forgotten what you've been taught," he chuckled to himself as the screen changed to a different scene, this one of Jump City's pier and warehouse section. "Let's see if you remember how to play this game, Shadow," he said to himself before pressing a button. That one little button brought a whole load of chaos…

* * *

Okay, so not only is this update long over due it's short too! Yeah, my brain decided to die on me so I didn't really get any ideas of what to do for this chapter but I needed to update so...here it is. 

Sorry Shiva for taking so long. Next chapter should hopefully be better. I think that a small sneak peek is in order. Remeber, I may change my mind about what happens next chapter when I write it but this is what I have in mind.

_The alarms blared loudly as the lights flashed signalling, what else, trouble. _

_Starfire gasped. "Trouble!" she said. The shadow manipulator rolled her eyes. It was a well known fact that the Titans always said that word when something was wrong. She wondered if they even noticed that they kept saying that or word over and over again or was it something mandatory._

_She was brought out of her musings when she realized that the alien girl had been saying something. "What?" she asked confused._

_Starfire sighed slightly, the first sign of impatience that the Shadow had seen from the girl ever. She wondered if she was begginning to rub off on the naive alien. "Friend, the city is in trouble. Would you-"_

_"I have no other choice, do I?" Shadow sighed. "Even if I didn't want to go, knowing you so far, you would drag me there anyway. "__The Tameranian grinned excitedly in anticipation on what she knew the girl was going to say. "Let's go kick some bad guy ass, then!" Shadow smirked, one hand on her hip as the other hand was already surrounded in shadow, ready to go._

_Robin, who had been listening to the two conversation nodded before he spoke. "Titans! GO!"_

So yeah, there it is. I hope to update soon but school is such a drag. I'm so looking forward to spring break. More time to write and one week before my B-Day! Man, why did I have to be born on the last day of March?

Anyway, nothing more to say so...**_PLEASE REVIEW!!!_**


	4. Need a Shadow?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans nor do I own Shadow Flame. She belongs to Miss Dark Shiva. I do own this story's plot.**

**Need a Shadow?**

If it wasn't for the fact that she made sure to keep her body in shape and exercise until she was an inch from death, Shadow Flame would probably not have been able to survive the torture that Starfire had dragged her through.

Shopping.

The girl collapsed; face down, on the couch, dropping the bags she had been carrying. "_Damn," _she thought tiredly. "_I can't feel my arms."_

Suddenly the alien princess plopped lightly down next to the exhausted girl. "Wasn't that glorious?" she asked, either not noticing or not caring that the girl was in obvious pain and trauman from the little trip.

"Hell. No." the temporarily handicapped shadow manipulator grunted raising her head from the comfy couch to hopefully give the other girl the deadliest glare she could muster. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to have too much effect since Starfire continued to chatter on happily.

Shadow Flame sighed. Though she hated to admit it, just listening to Starfire talk was somewhat comforting. She learned a lot of things about the alien princess that not most people, and especially not captives, knew about. She felt like she didn't have to shy away from the discussion of her powers. Actually, as Shadow was dragged through out the mall, she found out that it was quite easy to talk to Starfire. Not because she gave out wonderful advice or anything. It was just…because she listened. She didn't judge something that many people in her life had done.

Starfire was cut off from her ramblings when the door to the living room opened. Both girls peeked over the top of the couch to see a not too happy Robin.

"Starfire! Where have you been and why did you take her," he said pointing to Shadow Flame, "out of the tower without permission?"

"I thought it was best," Starfire said, voice calm and level. It was slightly discomforting to Robin and Shadow Flame. Neither had heard the girl talk in such a calm and firm voice without any traces of her usual bubbly-ness.

"Listen Starfire, I know you thought what you were doing was right but-" Robin began before Starfire cut him off.

"I don't think it was right, it was," she said. "She hasn't done anything against us but it seems your obsession with Slade is getting in the way. You are unable to see that she is just like us before we formed. Afraid, lost…alone."

"Hey!" Shadow Flame shouted standing up, gaining the attention of both the other teens. Her hands were fists at her sides as she glared down at the ground. If it weren't for the power inhibitor on her wrist the whole room would be covered in shadows. "I didn't ask her to take me out. I didn't ask to be here. Also, I don't need you to defend me. I can do that myself. And do act like you understand me because neither of you do!" she yelled.

"Is that really what you believe?" a monotone voice asked from behind her. Flame spun around to see Raven floating before her. "You say we don't understand you but maybe you don't understand us. I was the gate for this world's destruction. I tried to run and hide, but it was no use. I tried to push my friends away but it just brought them closer to me. Without them you probably wouldn't be standing here alive right now."

"My old team leader thought of me as a disgrace," Beast Boy said transforming from a wolf to his humanoid form. "I thought I was useless, a screw-up. But these guys don't think that," he grinned softly waving a hand out towards his friends.

"Not all the time," Raven muttered causing the green boy to pout.

A hand placed itself on Shadow's shoulder. She looked up to see Cyborg looking down on her. "One day, when I woke up, I found myself looking like this," he gestured to his metallic body. "I thought that I was a freak, a monster, a machine, but I'm human, just like everyone else. My team taught me that."

Shadow shrugged his hand off her shoulder. "Well aren't you all lucky?" she scoffed. "Unfortunately, I don't have people who I can depend on. People who I know will always have my back. I've had to look out for only myself since I was ten!" she spoke, not noticing that her voice was getting louder or that angry tears had began to form in her eyes. "I ran away from my family because I knew they wouldn't understand me! They hated freaks and I knew they would hate me!" she slumped to her knees, looking down at her limps arms that lay before her.

"I thought _he_ was different," she said softly. "I thought _he_ understood me. He promised that he cared for me but he only wanted my power."

"Slade," Robin hissed angrily.

"Yes," Shadow nodded. "When I realized that it was practically too late. Once you go into the shadows," she said, "you may find that when you step back into the light, it's gone," she chuckled softly at her weak joke before frowning. "He won't stop looking for me. I know too much about him. He'll just keep attacking me."

"Then why don't you let us help?" Robin asked softly kneeling down in front of her.

"Tch," the girl chuckled. "Weren't you the one that threatened to mark me down as a criminal? Indecisive much?" she smirked raising a brow. Robin was about to reply when suddenly the alarms blared loudly as the lights flashed signaling, what else, trouble in the city.

Starfire gasped. "Trouble!" she said. The shadow manipulator rolled her eyes. It was a well known fact that the Titans always said that when something was wrong. She wondered if they even noticed that they kept saying that word over and over again or was it something mandatory they had to do.

She was brought out of her musings when she realized that the alien girl had been saying something. "What?" she asked confused.

Starfire sighed slightly, the first sign of impatience that the Shadow had seen from the girl ever. She wondered if she was beginning to rub off on the naive alien. "Friend, the city is in trouble. Would you-"

"I have no other choice, do I?" Shadow sighed, cutting her off. "Even if I didn't want to go, knowing you, you would drag me there anyway." The Tameranian grinned excitedly in anticipation on what she knew the girl was going to say. "Let's go kick some bad guy ass, then!" Shadow smirked, one hand on her hip as the other hand was already surrounded in shadow, ready to go.

Robin, who had been listening to the two's conversation nodded before he spoke. "Titans! GO!"

* * *

When they arrived in the middle of downtown Jump City the area was in disarray. Windows were broken, cars were flipped over, and people were screaming while running all over the place.

"Whoa, this looks like BB's room," Cyborg observed.

"Hey!" the animal morpher protested.

"No time for jokes," Robin said, "Look!" In front of them heading in the direction that people were fleeing in was a whole army of over ten thousand robots. Slade's robots. "So he's back," the boy growled.

"It's so like him to send someone or something else to do his dirty jobs," Shadow Flame snorted. Robin nodded before turning to the others.

"Starfire, Beast Boy, get all the civilians away from here before joining back with us. Raven, Cyborg, you'll come with me to get rid of these things."

"What about me?" Shadow Flame asked. Robin didn't answer. Instead he pressed a button on his belt and the silver band around her wrist fell off, clanking against the ground with finality.

If she wanted to, she could have made a run for it right now, but Shadow Flame wasn't that type of girl. Her hands glowed with errie darkness as her whole body began to look like it was a shadow itself. She slammed her hand down on the ground, connecting herself with a shadow. With a flick of her wrist, the shadow separated from the ground and wrapped around several approaching robots before squeezing them to parts. "Try to keep up," she grinned over her shoulder before she disappeared merging with another shadow and catching more of Slade's robots off guard, the others soon following her lead.

* * *

Hey guys! Finally updated! And it's a day before my B-Day! Anyway, I know it's short but I'm pretty confident that next chapter will be the last so I need to work on it and make it good.

Thanks to all my reviewers and to Miss Dark Shiva for letting me write this though she probably forgot that I owe her this.

Anyway, nothing more to say so...**_PLEASE REVIEW!!_**


	5. A Flame within the Shadows

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or Shadow Flame which belongs to Miss Dark Shiva. I do own this story's plot.**

**A Flame within the Shadows**

Sciophobia or Sciaphobia is known as "the fear of shadows". Quite a few people had it which only made Shadow Flame confused on how this could be possible. What about shadows were there to fear?

_"The darkness," _she thought slamming her blue flame covered fist into the face of one of the attacking robots. "_People fear the dark so therefore the fear shadows." _She raised her arms above her head before bringing them down to the right side of her body. _"They don't understand it." _She moved her hand in front of her, now holding a cape of shadows. "_They fear what they don't know." _She tossed the cloak into the air. As it descended it grew, engulfing the large group of robots underneath it. _"They fear…" _she thought raising her hand and slowly closing it, making the cloak shrink around it victims. "_ME!" _With a tight squeeze she closed her hands, the cloak crushing and shrinking in size until it was only a small speck of shadows, no robot pieces in sight.

Shadow Flames flipped backwards as a rain of lasers fell from the roofs where several robots hid. Before she could even blink though, they disembodied by several glowing green disks. "Are you okay?" Starfire asked hovering worriedly next to her.

"I'm fine- watch it!" Shadow yelled using a strand of shadow to pull Starfire out of the way of an incoming elephant that was soaring towards them. With her other hand, she created a net of shadows that safely caught Beast Boy mid air in human form.

"Thanks," the green toned boy murmured dizzily rubbing his head.

"Did you two get all the civilians out?" the shadow manipulator asked.

"Yes, there safely away from here," Starfire said.

"Good. Then you don't need me," Shadow Flame said before emerging herself in shadows as she sank through the ground. Beast Boy and Starfire could do nothing as they watch the girl disappear. There was nothing to do. They didn't know where the girl went and they couldn't look for her. The city needed them.

"Be safe where ever you are," Starfire murmured before going off with Beast Boy to help the others.

--

Shadow Flame's feet landed with a soft thud on the underground floor of the sewers below. She barely reacted to the intense and insufferable smell of waste and mold as she made her way through the slippery tunnels that she had long ago memorized. "_Know your surroundings," _Slade had once told her. That may have been one of the few good advice that she still followed to this day.

As she turned the corner, she barely had time to create a shield or duck as a fist slammed into the concrete wall where her head used to be.

"Your reaction time was slower than it was before," a blasé tone sighed. "I see you become lazy, my dear apprentice."

"I'm not your apprentice anymore, Slade," the girl grunted out as she wrapped ribbons of shadows around her arms and fist. "I want you to leave me alone."

"Why would I leave such a diamond in the ruff, like you, alone? You have great potential, my dear Shadow Flame_," _the masked man said._ "_I created you. You are mine and I always get back what was mine."

The shadow manipulator growled sending a whip of darkness at the man. Slade strangely enough did not move as the whip came towards him. Instead, making Shadow Flame freeze in shock for a moment, he caught the shadow made whip in his fist, wrapping it around his hand before sending a jarring tug towards him.

The dark hair girl fell to her knees looking as the man leisurely made his way towards her. "My dear, dear child," he said with a chiding tone. "I see you're out of practice." He stopped within a foot of her, kneeling before her to stare into her shocked and, for once, scared eyes. "Get up," he said, "and fight. This can't be all you have." The scene was all too familiar to the girl…

_She gasped as the air left and her body slid down the wall until she lay in a heap on the ground. She was so close. She thought she had him. She thought she could finally beat him but then…He was always one step ahead of her. He was always thinking of his next plan of action in the time it took for her to even realize what was even going on. _

_"Never think less of your opponent even when it seems like you have the advantage, Shadow Flame," he said staring down as the bruised and beaten girl. "Get up!"_

_"It hurts!" the small girl cried._

_"Haven't you heard of the saying 'No pain, no gain'?" the man asked sounding bored._

_"But it hurts! I-I can't!" she pleaded, tears in her eyes. The next thing she knew, she was pinned to the wall, Slade's hand wrapped around her neck, hindering her breathing._

_"Don't say you can't!" the man growled. "Only the pathetic say they can't! And I have no room for anything pathetic. Remember this, child, and remember it well: I am the only one who cares for you, who provides for you, the only one who doesn't think that you are a freak. Your parents think that you are a freak and so does the rest of the world. The minute you ever leave here, you'll be dead. Nothing"_

_The girl looked at his eyes, hidden behind his bi-color mask._

Shadow Flame stared at the man in front of him. "Nothing…" she murmured.

"Yes," he said caressing her cheek so softly that if it weren't for the current situation, the scene would look like that of a father comforting his daughter. "You are nothing…nothing without me."

"Without you…" the girl repeated, her eyes looking all spark to them.

"Yes, my apprentice. Your reason of existing is to be used as my greatest tool. There is no other reason for you to be alive."

"I could give her several other reasons that are better than you, Slade," a voice sneered before the revving of a motor was heard as the blinding light of a motor cycle was directed on them. A cool darkness engulfed the girl's body just as Robin jumped off of the bike that was directed in Slade's and hers general direction.

When the darkness ebbed away, the shadow manipulator found herself situated behind Raven and Starfire while Beast Boy and Cyborg helped Robin fight off the mask wearing villain.

"Friend, are you okay?" Starfire asked worriedly kneeling next to the girl.

"What's a friend?" Shadow Flame murmured distantly. "Someone you get rid of when you no longer find any use for them?"

"No!" Starfire gasped. "How could such things be said about such a glorious thing like friendship?"

"How could someone want to be friends with a freak like me?"

"If you haven't noticed," Raven said monotonously from under her hood, "we're all freaks here. "Starfire is an alien. I'm a half demon. Robin's a control freak. Cyborg is half machine and I doubt we have any time to even start on Beast Boy. Face it. We're all freaks so don't go playing the poor defenseless, "I'm a freak" card with us," she said keeping her tone even though it had an underlying biting tone to it. She gave the shadow manipulator not another glance as she made her way towards the fight.

Starfire bit her lip as she looked down at Shadow Flame who was still trying to digest Raven's words. The alien princess was unsure of what to do. She looked towards her friends who were fighting off Slade, whom was now being backed up by his drones. They needed her…but didn't Shadow Flame need her too?

She was brought out of her thoughts when she saw the dark hair girl get to her feet. Starfire was unable to see the girl's face but the luminous blue flames that surrounded the girl's hands were enough to put away any of her doubts.

--

Robin parried, dodged, and kicked every attack that Slade threw at him. The boy was badly beaten even though his opponent barely had a scratch on him.

"My, isn't this like a little reunion of my apprentices?" Slade said while twisting Robin's arm behind his back.

"Whatever you call it," a voice said behind him as a squeezing presence surrounded his arm, "the students are going to kick your ass!" The squeezing sensation became so great that the masked man was forced to let go of Robin who jumped back a safe distance. Slade saw the shadow that had been squeezing his arms retreat back towards a shadowy part of the wall where Shadow Flame stepped out from.

"You think you can beat me by yourself?" Slade asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"I know I can't," the girl said smiling slowly. "But I'm not doing this by myself…Titans…GO!"

"Five!" Starfire yelled as she sent a shower of star bolts down on the criminal mastermind. Slade easily dodged them only to get rammed in the side by a green ram.

"Four!" Beast Boy yelled changing back into his human form.

"Three," Raven said as she used her powers to throw pieces of cement from the sewer's walls at Slade.

"Two!" Cyborg and Robin yelled as they both punched Slade.

Shadow Flame growled as she felt the power rush towards her calling all shadows to herself. Moving both her hands to her left side, with a determine cry she sliced her hands through the air, sending the wave of shadows towards the battered masked man. "One!" she shouted as an explosion ranged out through the sewers…

--

"Dude, is she alive?"

"Idiot. She's breathing."

"Glorious!"

"Give the girl some room guys."

"She's waking."

She groaned as her eyes were met with bright light that was quickly blocked out partially by five heads.

"Friend! You are awake!" Starfire cried happily hugging the now awaken but still not fully aware girl.

"Starfire, I don't think she's able to breathe," Cyborg pointed out before the alien girl let go of the shadow manipulator.

"What happened?" Shadow asked.

"You kicked Slade's butt!" Beast Boy cheered, pumping his fist up into the air.

"He's dead?"

"No," Robin said. "He's still out there."

"But the damage you gave him should keep him out of the picture for awhile," Raven said, a slight hint of praise in her voice.

"I see," Shadow Flame said softly a she sat up in the Titans' tower's infirmary bed. She stood up from bed, finding that she was wearing a newer and cleaner outfit similar to the one she was wearing before. No one stopped her as she walked silently out of the room and through the tower till she reached outside. After a few minutes the Titans came out, joining her as she watched the soft hues of red, orange, pink, and yellow of the setting sun.

"So what are you going to do now?" Robin asked.

"I have an idea," the girl said.

"You know, since you helped us with Slade, the least we could do is give you this," Robin said handing her a small black and yellow circular device; a communicator. "You're now an honorary Titan."

"Booya!" Cyborg cheered.

"Awesome!" Beast Boy said giving her thumbs up.

"Marvelous!" Starfire said twirling in the air.

"Yippee," Raven said sounding totally uninterested though in her eyes you could tell that she was.

"Welcome to the team, Shadow Flame," Robin grinned.

The girl shook her head, her dark hair bouncing off her shoulders. "No, not Shadow Flame. Just call me Alika. Alika Kore."

"Well, Alika Kore," Robin said. "You're welcome to join our team."

Alika looked at the boy before looking at the rest of the people around her, her friends. Her hands tightened around the communicator. "Thank you. I appreciate the offer but there's something I have to do before I can do anything else."

"We understand," Starfire nodded. Alika smiled before tackling the alien girl in the tightest hug she could muster.

"Thank you Starfire," she whispered before pulling away. She took a few steps back from the group before emerging herself in the long shadows the sunset had created leaving behind the place she knew that she could come back to whenever she needed to. --

In a fairly decent suburban neighborhood of Jump City sat the house of Mr. and Mrs. Kore. The once happy couple was now depressed and barely hanging on to their marriage. Their one true joy, their daughter had long ago been taken away from them. They had searched day and night for weeks, months, even years.

Mrs. Kore had once been very beautiful but now her face was covered with wrinkles, her hair with streaks of grey. Mr. Kore seemed to slouch when he stood and he would at times stare at nothing in particular.

Their lawn was over grown and unkempt with trash littering the grass. All of the rooms in the house were dusty and unclean, except for one room, their daughter's room which they kept clean and neat in hopes for her return.

The two were sitting in the living room, the TV on but neither of them was watching it. The doorbell rang and though it was slightly broken, this time it actually seemed fixed. For some reason, they both felt like they should answer the door so together, they got up and made their way to the door.

They opened it to reveal a dark hair girl with gray eyes, about sixteen or seventeen; the same age their daughter would have be.

The girl looked up nervously at the two adults before smiling shyly at their shocked and tear stained faces. "Mom. Dad. I'm home."

* * *

So yeah! That's the end! Yay! Thanks so much guys for reading this.

Nothing more to say so for the last time...**_PLEASE REVIEW!!_**


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